Complex Existence
by TheEvilTrafficCone
Summary: Picks up after S2 finale. How will everyone get back to the camp, if they ever do? Why are they here. Is anyone alive in the hatch? CC SKJ JinSun? Finished!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first long Lost fanfic. It's basically my version of what happens after the S2 finale. I think I know where I'm going with this, I've got my own theory that I'm following. Don't worry, this isn't a tag along. There will be lots of Lost drama and action Yeah! On to it now!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lost**

**Chapter 1**

Kate coughed as she fell to the ground. She was forced back up by an unseen hand and continued to walk. She was hot and sweaty and the burlap sack over her head only intensified the heat.

The Others had made Kate, Jack, and Sawyer cross the jungle when Michael and Walt had sailed away. It was slow going, considering that Kate could not see where she was walking. Several times she had fallen into holes or ditches or rocks with holes in them. But still, the Others forced them to walk through the night, only occasionally taking breaks.

After long last, they stopped and were allowed to rest; Kate could hear Jack and Sawyer being herded by the Others. The girl named Alex who Kate kept getting brief glancesof took the sacks off their heads. She also removed the gags from their mouths. As the fresh air hit her face, Kate felt much better. Alex allowed the hostages to drink some water by holding it up to their mouths, for their hands had been tied together. Henry stood off to the side watching them closely. The firelight showed the deep scars across his face.

Kate looked around and saw that they had stopped in a small village like the one Michael had described. A little ways away, there was a metal door set into the ground like a bunker. Kate rewetted her chapped lips as Sawyer started to speak.

"Hey Freckles, enjoy the hike?" He asked.

"Oh you bet Sawyer. I'm glad this is not a serious enough situation for you to stop cracking jokes." Kate replied, "Jack, are you okay?" Kate checked.

"Yeah," he panted, "I think this is the place Michael talked about."

"Great observations there Sherlock, guess what, we're also on an island!" Sawyer spoke sarcastically.

"Oh God," Kate groaned, "If I have to put up with you all night going on like this, I might kill myself."

Sawyer was about to reply when a woman approached them. She wore a drab dress like the others and introduced herself as Ms. Clue. "I need to ask you a few questions," She spoke as she kneeled down in front of them, "Can you confirm that you were all passengers on Oceanic Flight 815?"

"No, we all decided to get on Puff the Magic Dragon and fly here." Sawyer spat at her.

"Yes, we were on that plane," Kate hoped that by cooperating with Ms. Clue then she could gain her trust and maybe escape.

"Jack Shepard," Ms. Clue turned to Jack, "your reason for travel was because you needed to ship your father's coffin to Los Angeles for his funeral. If I'm not mistaken."

Jack was stunned, how could this woman he had never met know about that. He hadn't even told Kate that much, but nevertheless, he nodded.

"Kate Austin," The strange woman continued, "Your reason for traveling to Los Angeles was because you were being detained by a marshal for killing your father, your childhood sweetheart Tom, running from the law, and other minor felonies."

"Yes," Kate replied weakly. There was no way that she could have known that information. She had never spoken of Tom or her father. Who were these people? She wondered.

"And James Ford, you were arrested in Sidney when you were discovered to be a con man and was being deported back to the U.S for sentencing."

"This ain't any of your damn business woman! You'd better stay the hell outa my life!" Sawyer shot at her. He struggled against the ropes that bound him.

"That was very good for today; tomorrow we can start the tests." Ms. Clue concluded.

The three sat there for awhile quietly emerged in their own thoughts, then finally Sawyer spoke, "I didn't know you had a childhood sweetheart Kate."

"Shut up."

Charlie stood there with a crowd of people swamping him and asking him what to do. Charlie backed up, trying to buy himself some time.

It was the morning after the hatch had "exploded" and when the rest of the survivors had discovered that Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Locke, Mr. Eko, Sayid, Desmond, Jin, Michael, and Sun had not returned yet, they started to panic.

"Don't you think we should go after them?" One person asked.

"No way! We already have lost too many people out there!" Another person argued, "Besides, they can take care of themselves."

"Bloody hell," Charlie muttered to himself. He had no idea why all these people were asking him what to do. Jack was the one who made all the decisions. But now that the A team was gone, people started to randomly turn to him because he had been the one to emerge from the jungle after the explosion. Charlie guessed they thought he knew why the others had left, but frankly he never paid much attention to the adventures of Jack and his gang.

"Okay," Charlie started out, "Okay, I think we need to check out the hatch and find Eko and Locke. Okay?"

Claire approached and started to calm everyone down, "Jack and the others should be back soon. Just settle down."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that guys."

Charlie and Claire turned around and saw a very exhausted Hurley standing there. He was covered in dirt and his frizzy hair had leaves in it.

"Hurley, what happened? Where's Jack? Why have you guys been gone for so long?"

"Dude, I need to sit down." Hurley collapsed on the sand. Claire gave him a cup of water and waited for him to catch his breath.

Finally Hurley spoke, "When we were going to get Walt back, we found out that Michael was leading us into a trap. He killed- Hurley stopped, unable to continue.

"He killed who?" Charlie asked impatiently.

"Ana Lucia and Libby." Hurley croaked out.

"Oh my God," Claire whispered.

"He did it to get Walt back. He said that he had to and that he needed to bring me, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer to do it." Hurley almost seemed to be justifying Michael's actions. He took another sip of water and continued, "We were brought to the Others and they tied us up. They gave Michael a boat and let me go."

"Why did they let you go?" Charlie asked.

"The Others let me go because they said I had to tell you guys not come after the Others to get Kate, Sawyer, and Jack back." Hurley admitted.

"What about Sayid, Jin, and Sun? Did they get captured too?" Claire asked.

Hurley just shook his head, "No, I don't think so. I didn't see them."

"Fantastic, now they've gotten themselves in a rut and we don't have a doctor anymore." Charlie sighed.

"Quiet Charlie, do you want the other survivors to hear you." Claire said, "It's going to get bad when they hear the news. It might cause them to panic more. I mean we should tell them, but we have to do it carefully."

"Dude, I don't know. I don't know how to run a jungle society." Hurley said tiredly.

"They're going to know that something's up." Charlie said, brushing sand off his jeans, "I'm going to go talk to Bernard about this."

Charlie walked off and headed over to where he saw Rose and Bernard at the cloths line.

"Jack's not coming back?" Bernard worriedly said as Charlie told him the news. Rose stood next to him.

"That's what it's looking like. I don't know if I should go after him or what." Charlie replied.

"Hun, weren't you going to go to the hatch and look for Locke and Mr. Eko?" Rose reminded Charlie.

"Yeah, but I don't know what to do. Who would I even take?" Charlie asked.

"I'll go." Bernard offered, "And I could probably get Steve to come too."

"Charlie, I'll come too." Claire approached the small group.

"But Aaron," Charlie protested.

"I can watch him." Rose said.

"Thanks Rose." Claire spoke handing the baby over to the other woman, "When are we leaving?"

"But it's dangerous." Charlie was still trying to dissuade Claire from coming with. He didn't even want to go to the hatch.

"I guess the sooner the better." Bernard decided.

**A/N: So I hoped you liked it. I've got a lot more written but I want at least 5 reviews before I continue. Chinchillas are friends not furs! Soylent Green is people! TheEvilTrafficCone Out!**


	2. Chapter 2

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* * *

A/N: Well the mob has spoken, thanks for all the reviews! So you wanted a little Jate? Maybe I can arrange something.**

**Chapter 2**

Charlie led the group out of camp to the hatch. He had packed along a flashlight and a rope. Bernard, Steve, and Claire followed, brushing past the green foliage. They all followed the path blazed by Locke, Jack, and Boone.

Halfway there, a downpour of rain started and the group took shelter under an outcrop of rocks. Claire passed around a bottle of water to everyone and then sat down next to Charlie. She noticed that he still hadn't quite recovered from the explosion. He had a hard time hearing and had to constantly ask people to repeat what they were saying louder. Claire knew that Charlie didn't want to return to the hatch, but he couldn't leave them down there either.

"How are you doing Charlie?" Claire asked.

"Soggy." He replied.

Claire smiled. Charlie was always joking around even at the most unconventional times.

"So the hatch, is there anything left?" Claire asked, hoping to get more information.

"I don't know. I ran out of there and then fell onto the ground. I never turned around. I'm a bloody coward. I should have gone down there right away."

"No you're not a coward, Charlie." Claire said taking his hand, "It's much safer this way, with more people."

"Yeah, but they could be dead by now." Charlie couldn't help but continue, "It's just that I can't lead. Not like how Jack does. I freeze up and don't think." He admitted.

"You have other good qualities, your funny, sweet, and a musician." Claire told him.

Charlie smiled, "Yeah, I guess your right."

Just as the rain stopped Steve got up. He shrieked and dropped his backpack. On it, a large green snake crawled.

"Jesus! That thing scared me." Steve said.

Claire approached the snake. She slowly grabbed the backpack and slipped it out from underneath the reptile. The snake quickly slithered into the bushes.

"What are you? A snake charmer?" Bernard asked.

"Oh no," Claire explained embarrassed, "It's really not poisonous. My ex-boyfriend used to have one in his apartment as a pet."

Steve looked embarrassed to be so startled from such a harmless snake and took the backpack from Claire. They continued on to the hatch after that episode and finally reached it.

Charlie went first and as he brushed past the bushes he gasped.

* * *

It was an uncomfortable night. Sleeping with their hands tied behind their backs was extremely painful. Jack had no idea how he even got to sleep.

The Others had awakened them at the crack of dawn when the sun still hadn't risen past the tree line. Jack's back ached as they were forced up by the solemn Others dressed in drab cloths.

He caught Kate's glance right before the sacks were put over their heads again.

"Morning doc." Sawyer spoke through the bag on his head.

"Sawyer," Jack replied.

"So I guess they'll be taking us to do them tests." Sawyer made conversation.

"That's what they told us." Jack spoke.

Sawyer lowered his voice, "Spotted bozo hatch guy's boat by the rocks."

"What?" Jack asked confused and then realized he was talking about Desmond's boat. That meant Sayid had to be close by.

"Keep a low profile." Kate warned them as the Others stopped them.

The three were lead into a dark hallway that was much cooler than outside. Their footsteps echoed around the concrete chamber. They were stopped again and the burlap sacks were yanked off their heads.

It took Jack a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim lights. They were in a hexagonal room with a few metal chairs and a table. The electric lights hummed monotonously.

"Jack, Kate, James, please have a seat." Henry announced smugly. Jack noticed that he still hadn't changed out of the dirty cloths that he had on when he escaped.

"Make me Pedro," Sawyer growled.

Henry smiled, "I had a feeling you may be less than willing to cooperate." He took out a needle filled with a clear solution, "This is sodium pentathol, or an agent that acts like a truth serum."

Jack then realized that these people were not hillbillies. They had supplies and technology way beyond their reach. Sodium pentathol was extremely hard to acquire. Where the hell could they have gotten it?

"Why have you taken us?" Jack accused.

"Now if you answer my questions, I may be in a good enough mood to answer yours."

"Stop playing with us Henry!" Jack shouted, "You really think you can do whatever you want with us? That you're so superior? Why go after us like this, and hunt us?" Jack asked angrily. He hated how this creep felt he owned them. It seemed like he thought all this was perfectly logical and moral.

"Inject them," Henry ordered calmly. A few men gripped their arms and injected the sodium pentathol.

The truth serum acted fast, entering Jack's blood stream and getting pumped throughout his body and entering his brain. In a matter of minutes the lights started spinning. He looked at Kate and Sawyer, equally dazed. This was not good.

Sayid was lying on his stomach in the dirt, peering out through some bushes. Late in the evening the day before, life had returned to the camp from the hot daytime. The Others had arrived, and with them were three hostages, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer.

Under the cover of darkness, Sayid had carefully taken note on all the guards watching his friends. When did they eat, when did they change guards, what were their habits? Now all the old training he had learned as a soldier was really coming in useful. The more you know of your enemy, the better you can perceive their attacks, Sayid thought.

Jin and Sun had stayed in the boat while he staked out the camp. Sayid knew that Jin felt unsafe sleeping on land so they both remained in the boat, keeping it out of harm's way.

* * *

Sayid noticed that Henry, the man in the hatch, appeared to be the leader. This was strange because Henry had said that if he ever came back to his people, they would kill him. Everyone else seemed to never get in his way or question his authority. They would do anything for him.

The next day at dawn, the survivors were woken up and forced to put bags over their heads. Then they left camp and were taken to another hatch set into a rock wall. Sayid was careful as he made his way toward the hatch. There were two guards posted outside of it.

Sayid was surprised when he saw that the two guards were sharing one gun between them. He picked up his soviet and crawled closer. It wouldn't be hard to take them out. He could even sneak up and knock them out, which would be a smarter choice considering the gun would make too much noise.

Just before he was going to attack, Sayid noticed a small dark alcove in the side of the hatch.

"Cameras," He whispered to himself. They must be wired to a control room inside. This technology was highly advanced. He had only seen this type of surveillance in the highest security bases in Iraq.

Knowing that he would need more men to break in, Sayid reluctantly headed back to the boat where he communicated through Sun to Jin about his plans.

"I would need two men for this. One to take out the camera and another to knock out the guards." Sayid spoke which was then translated.

"Will you join me?" Sayid asked.

Jin and Sun conversed and then Sun spoke, "He says if that's what needs to be done. Jin will come. I'll watch the boat." Sun told Sayid.

"Very well, we leave in the morning."

**A/N: Thanks again, I'll probably be able to update everyday. I have a couple chapters written in advance. Animals are friends not furs! If u guys are confused or anything, just ask. **

**TheEvilTrafficeCone Out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys have liked it so far! It took me forever to put up this chapter. The site wouldn't let me. But I was like hell no, I'm gonna sit here till u let me.**

**Chapter 3**

Charlie couldn't believe what he was looking at. There was a new clearing in the forest. All around the set of metal doors leading into the hatch, stumps of previous trees were the only thing left.

Claire bent down and examined one. Each stump was exactly the same size, almost as if a woodcutter had measured and cut them down to the very last centimeter.

"I don't get it." Bernard said awed as he came up to them. "Did the explosion do this?"

"I dunno," Charlie replied, and then he bent down to the ground. The soil sparkled and glimmered in the sun. He scooped up a handful of dirt and then realized that it was mostly made up of metal shavings. "That's strange."

Charlie hesitantly walked up to the metal doors. They appeared intact. He slowly opened the slightly askew doors and peered in. It was dark inside, so he shined the light around.

"Hello?" He called, "Anyone there?"

There was no response, neither the mechanical hum that the survivors had grown accustomed to hearing in the hatch.

"It looks bad." Steve spoke coming up behind Charlie. There was debris and metal scattered everywhere on the floor. Charlie took a deep breath and walked in. He did not want to look like a coward in front of Claire.

"Wait." The woman called out from behind him. She came up to Charlie, "Be careful." Claire said, squeezing his hand. She remained outside the hatch ready to run back to the camp to get assistance if they needed it.

Charlie looked at her worried expression. Now that she was finally starting to trust him again, he didn't want to ruin it.

"I will." He reassured her. He walked into the dark hallway and made his way through the wreckage. Bernard and Steve followed, being careful not to disturb much. Steve looked especially worried. Charlie didn't even know if he had been in the hatch before. Not many of the survivors had.

Dust fell from the ceiling and Charlie squinted, trying to see. He hoped to find Eko and Locke soon, but also was hesitant because he was afraid he would come across their bodies. He shifted some debris aside and started to squeeze through the opening when there was a shudder. Heavy metal objects began to fall as Charlie struggled to get through. He pulled his legs through just in time as the whole thing collapsed, closing the opening. This reminded Charlie eerily of the time when the cave had collapsed with him and Jack in it.

"Charlie! Are you okay?" Bernard called from the other side.

"Um, yeah. I'm all right." Charlie answered back.

"Wait there, "Steve called, there was rummaging as the two tried to dig through.

"This might take awhile," Steve called on the other side.

"That's okay; I'll find another way out." Charlie answered.

"Wait, it's not safe," Bernard cautioned.

Faintly, Charlie hared a muffled thudding coming from farther within the hatch.

"Do you guys hear that?" He asked.

"Hear what?" Steve spoke.

"I think someone's down here!" Charlie told them excitedly, "Wait, let me check it out."

"Hey be careful, try not to disturb anymore wreckage." Bernard warned.

Charlie ventured foreword into the hatch, following the sound. "Eko, Locke?"

The light from the flashlight lit up the murals on the wall. Broken dishes littered the floor. Suddenly, Charlie remembered that Desmond was trapped among the destruction too.

"Help!" Came a weak call.

Charlie heard it and desperately asked, "I'm coming, where are you?" He shined the light around and his eye caught a pile of concrete move slightly.

"Get me out!"

"Hold on! Stay still!" Charlie spoke, panicking. His hands began to tremble and he wished he could have a fix to calm his nerves. It was very hot in the dusty chamber and sweat covered Charlie's face. He began to lift the concrete blocks away and finally reached the bottom. Locke's face looked up at him.

"Charlie!" He gasped.

* * *

Sawyer opened his eyes and then tightly shut them as harsh radiance shone into them. Jesus! Do I have a hangover? He asked himself. He must still be in Sidney hitting the bars in a vain attempt to forget his train wreck of a life.

Purple splotches danced behind his eyelids. This was the strangest hangover he had ever experienced. At last, Sawyer worked up enough courage to open his eyes and face the light.

A bright florescent lamp burned into his eyes and Sawyer tried to lift his hand to shield it from his view. That's when he noticed that he couldn't. His hands had been strapped down and after further struggling; he deduced his feet were too.

"Hey! Whoever you are, I'm gonna tear you to shreds when I get my hands on you!" He yelled angrily.

"Sawyer?"

Who was that and how did she know my name? Sawyer thought. He looked to his side and saw a pretty young woman with dark wavy hair and a thin, but strong figure. That's when he remembered everything, especially her.

"Freckles."

She looked tired and sad, "I don't know what the hell they're doing." She spoke, "Jack hasn't woken up yet."

Sawyer felt a sudden urge to rip out of his restraints and rescue her, so maybe she could stop worrying about Jack all the time and notice him.

"Listen, I'm getting out of here. If you want to stay behind until doc wakes up, fine by me. I'm not staying here any longer." Sawyer said fed up. He thrashed against the restraints, but couldn't get free. Looking around the room, he saw nothing but the tables they were strapped down to and a door.

Just then, the door opened and in came Henry, "Here are my chatterboxes now." He remarked looking at them interestedly. A few people followed him in. They wore white jackets, rubber gloves and masks. Two of them held clipboards while the last pushed a cart with metallic medical tools in it.

Jack groaned and Sawyer guessed that he was regaining conciseness. Henry began to speak, "Well now, all of you pulled through that very well. We learned a lot from you three. Now before we go foreword onto the next test, I have to hold up my part of the bargain. So I shall answer your question Jack. We have taken you because we need to learn more about ourselves."

"Then why don't you strap your own damn asses on these tables and test yourselves!" Sawyer shot back.

"Oh believe me, we have. We've gone as far as possible doing that. Now we need to explore past our own boundaries and reach a new realm of understanding." Henry announced.

Kate asked a question next, "Where are we and how can we get home?"

"Now that's a more complex question Kate." He conversed calmly, "I'm not sure you're ready to know that yet."

"He doesn't know where we are." Jack spoke up, "Are we some sort of experiment?"

"Getting warmer Jack. My my, you are catching on more quickly than the others." Henry replied, he wore a smug smile on his ugly face.

"So doctor Frankenstein decides to put us on an island and run tests on us? Is that the gig?" Sawyer asked.

"No, no, no," Henry spoke, "This was never decided. It's not like you were chosen to come here."

"Why? Why can't you just let us go? Can't you let us go home and see our families? Why can't we leave?" Kate asked, getting fed up.

"I thought you never had a family Kate. You were on the run for most of your adult life. When was the last time you shared a Christmas with someone or you received a birthday gift? You are home. None of you could get any closer." Henry told them bluntly.

"Alright! This son of a bitch has lost his mind." Sawyer said dangerously.

Henry stood at the front of the room and motioned for the Others to begin. The cart was wheeled over toward Sawyer and the shiny scalpels and scissors glistened without feeling. Two of the surgeons went up to Sawyer. They cut through his shirt and then took out the scalpel.

"Get off me!" He growled.

"Stop! You're going to kill him!" Kate yelled.

"Hey! What are you doing to him?" Jack ordered for them to tell him.

"Don't worry, James will not feel a thing. When you wake up, he'll be fine." Henry blinked and then gave a fake smile. He took out yet another needle and injected it into her arm as well as Jack's. Sawyer watched as Kate slowly closed her eyes. The same was done to Jack and then the surgeons proceeded with Sawyer.

**A/N: So review okay?Doesn't it seem like there have been a lot less CC stories on the board. And I just don't get the Claire/Sawyer stuff. Soylent Green is people! Chinchillas r friends not furs!**

**TheEvilTrafficCone Out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yay, thanks for the reviews! I don't know why all the CC stuff is gone, I thought there would be more stories and stuff since they kissed. Don't worry, I'll add in lots of CC. **

**Chapter 4**

Charlie looked at Locke's bloodied and dirty face. "Jesus Locke! Are you okay?"

Locke managed to forcibly reply, "Something's pinning me. I can't move."

"Okay, okay," Charlie tried to calm himself down, "Here, drink some water." He held the water bottle up to Locke's dry lips for him to drink. Most of the water never made it into his mouth and Locke coughed.

Charlie came around to the other side and started studying the pile. He had to move the long metal beam off Locke's chest. Charlie grabbed one side of it and began to lift it. It was heavy and the metal cut into his hands, but slowly it began to rise. Locke pulled himself out from underneath it and both of them collapsed onto the ground. Charlie saw that Locke was covered in bruises.

"Do you know where Eko is?" Charlie asked hopefully.

"No," Locke panted, "He was with me when this place collapsed, but I have no idea where he could be now." Than as if remembering something he added, "Desmond, Desmond went down below."

"Where?"

"By the computer. There's a trapdoor leading down. He's down there."

"Charlie! Hey Charlie!" Bernard's voice echoed off the stone walls.

"Bernard!" Charlie yelled back.

"Come by the broken ladder, we can pull you up."

"Charlie, are you okay?" Claire's voice asked faintly.

Charlie came over to the tall shaft with light streaming down into it and looked at the silhouettes at the top.

"I found Locke." He told them.

"Here," Bernard threw down a rope, "Steve's still working on the other side. I'll go get him. We'll pull you and Locke up. He's okay right?"

"Yeah, hold on." Charlie went back to Locke and helped him over. Locke tied the rope securely around himself and the three hoisted him up. Locke groaned, his whole body seemed to be vibrating and soar. At last they pulled him up, next it was Charlie's turn.

"Come on Charlie," Claire called. The rope was thrown down again.

"But what about Eko and Desmond?" He asked.

"It's getting late." Bernard explained, "And we have to get Locke back."

"We can't just leave them down here!" Charlie protested.

"We need more people." Claire said.

Reluctantly, Charlie grabbed the rope and they pulled him up. He couldn't help feeling guilty for leaving Eko in what would perhaps be his eternal grave.

* * *

Kate awoke on a hard surface. Her neck ached as well as the rest of her body. She sat up and wondered vaguely how she could keep this up. Kate looked around her and saw nothing. She was in a pitch black room, but someone was next to her.

"Kate," Jack's voice cut through the darkness.

Kate felt relieved it was him and slowly her eyes adjusted to the light and she could make out the doctor's figure.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"I don't know." He admitted.

"Sawyer?" She asked.

"He's not here." Jack responded, his heart sinking at her eagerness to find him, "Kate, we've got to get out of here. They can't keep us like guinea pigs anymore."

"I know, but how?"

"I've been feeling around this room, and I found a door. When they open it, we can over take them."

"Sounds like a last resort." Kate spoke.

"It's the only thing we've got." Jack admitted.

* * *

Sayid and Jin approached the hatch. Sayid motioned for Jin to come closer. He looked at Jin and then pointed towards the camera built into the side of the hatch. Jin understood that Sayid wanted him to dismantle it. Then Sayid would be able to take out the guards without being seen.

Jin nodded and then slowly made his way through the underbrush avoiding the two men. As he crept through the leaves, Jin thought of Sun, hoping that he would see his pregnant wife again. Jin swelled with pride at the thought of his child and then fear when he realized how much pain Sun would probably be in when she gave birth on the island. But they would surly be rescued by then.

Jin vowed that if he got back alive, he would try to be the best husband in the world and not to lose his temper anymore. He thought that he had been doing a really good job of that during the past couple of days.

Snapping back to reality Jin thought about the task at hand. He would need to climb on top of the hatch to reach the security camera. That way he wouldn't be seen. He could create a makeshift loop by just pointing the camera in a different direction, that way no one would notice.

To get onto the hatch, he would need to climb the rock wall it was built into. Jin rubbed his hands together, preparing to climb. Even if they could get into the hatch, how would they find Jack, Kate, and Sawyer?

Jin began to tackle the wall. He grabbed onto some thick vines that hung from the top and pulled himself up. He began looking for hand and foot holds on the rough rock. Slowly, he made his way up and over to the hatch, gradually getting closer. The guards were facing the other way, watching the forest for enemies.

After a difficult and sweaty climb, Jin dropped onto the top of the hatch. His feet made a slight clanging noise as he hit it. The guards started to converse, looking around them to try and find the culprit of the noise.

Quickly, Jin bent down and broke the camera off its mount and pointed it away from the guards so that it filmed in a different direction. That was the sign for Sayid to attack. He abruptly sprang out of the bushes, surprising the guards and knocking the gun out of their hands.

Sayid took his soviet and whacked it hard against one of the man's heads. Jin jumped down and punched the other one. The two pummeled them until they were unconscious. Jin secured them with rope and then Sayid carefully tried the handle of the door. It was open. Jin took the guard's gun and they cautiously entered the dim hallway.

Jin followed Sayid as they made their way through the hatch. Sayid kept a careful eye out for any more security cameras. At the end of the hallway, there stood two doors. Sayid chose the one on the one on the right and carefully opened it. He peered in and saw that it was even darker than the hallway. He slowly stepped in with his gun ready.

Suddenly, he felt a tremendous blow to his head and Sayid fell to the ground. A man was on top of him punching him.

Jin heard the commotion and ran into the room. He tackled the person on Sayid and punched him in the face. But as the hallway light filtered in, it hit their faces.

"Jack!" Jin realized.

"Jin!"

"Sayid?" Another voice called out that sounded like Kate.

"We've come to rescue you." Sayid explained.

They all happily greeted each other and caught their breath.

"Thank God it's you." Jack said relieved, "Sorry about that."

"That's perfectly fine Jack, but we shouldn't stay around and talk. We need to leave as fast as possible." Sayid spoke, feeling the uneasiness of being in the enemy's nest.

"We can't. Sawyer's not here." Kate told them, "Last time we saw him he was on some sort of operating table."

"You should go. Jin can take you all to the boat. I'll stay here and look for Sawyer." Sayid decided.

"Sayid, it's too dangerous." Jack said, "You shouldn't go alone."

"And I suppose you are the one who wants to come with?"

Jack didn't reply.

"I'm coming." Kate said with finality in her voice.

"Very well, but we have to go now. Jack, the rest of the camp needs you. Your responsibility is to them. Go with Jin and if we don't get back by nightfall you should head back." Sayid ordered.

Jack looked uncertain. Sayid could tell he felt responsible for Sawyer.

"Go," Sayid urged.

"Okay, Sayid," Jack looked into the other man's eyes trusting him, "Kate," He said wondering if they would ever see each other again, "I'll see you when you bring Sawyer back."

"Right," Kate replied thinking mostly the same thing Jack was.

Jack and Jin headed out the exit and Kate and Sayid went further into the hatch.

"Do you have any idea where they could be holding Sawyer?" Sayid asked.

"No," Kate admitted, "I think they drugged us."

On the other side of the door, was the hexagonal room that Henry had given them the sodium pentothal. It looked the same way they left it except this time Kate realized that the grills on the floor were in the shape of the Dharma logo. She looked to the center of the floor and saw a metal flame set into the center.

"The Flame." Kate said.

"What?" Sayid asked confused.

"It's the name of the hatch."

"I see." Sayid understood.

They precariously entered another hallway. It was deserted; the two both sighed in relief, but knew that the danger was far from over. Kate hoped that Sawyer was alright, but she longed to see Jack again. She knew he would be regretting leaving them.

Another door was coming up. Sayid put his ear up to the crack and listened, "I hear voices." He whispered."

Kate nodded and Sayid counted silently to three. On three, he opened the door violently and leaped though with the gun pointed. Henry was in there along with the surgeons and Sawyer.

"Alright, nobody move!" Sayid ordered.

The others were surprised and stood still, everyone except for Henry who just blinked and had a small smile on his face. Sawyer was slumped in a chair, apparently out cold.

"Drop what you're holding." Sayid commanded to the man with the syringe in his hand. The man obeyed. "Back up."

Kate went over to Sawyer and managed to sling him over her shoulders. Sayid was still pointing the gun at his enemies.

"Oh Sayid, you're just delaying our progress." Henry sighed, "At least we got most of the tests done."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear a word from you!" Sayid yelled.

"I think you are better at getting people to talk than to shut up." Henry ignored Sayid.

"Let's go Sayid." Kate spoke. She didn't want him to loose his temper.

"Wait, we must tie them up first." Sayid explained. He took out some rope from his pocket and cut it up. Watching them carefully, Kate began to bind Henry's and the other's hands together. As Kate got to Henry, she kept a very alert eye on him. She used all her senses to predict what he would do.

It seemed to take forever to tie the knots. Kate felt suspicious that Henry could act so mild tempered toward them when they were doing this. He had to have some sort of plan. Finally she finished and Sayid locked the door from the outside.

"I hope that'll hold them." Kate said.

"If we are lucky, the doors won't be hooked up automatically to the control room." Sayid said as he helped Kate carry Sawyer's dead weight. Sawyer's blonde hair fell over his eyes. Kate liked him better this way, when he wasn't making snide remarks. In addition, Sawyer also had white gauze wrapped around his arm. It was the one with the gunshot wound in it Kate remembered. Had that been what the surgery was for? And what had Henry and the Others done to her and Jack?

"He should be fine." Sayid read her worried expression.

"If we can get out of here alive." Kate spoke as they hurried through the dim hatch.

**A/N: U guys are so supportive! Especially 16aqua my best friend. Chinchillas are friends not furs! Soylent Green is people!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. It just seemed like a good place to end it. Don't worry, I got more CC stuff in here!**

**Chapter 5**

Claire walked over to Rose who was holding Aaron.

"Thanks so much for watching him." She said.

"No problem hun. Whenever you need a babysitter, give me a call. So I hear we got Locke back." Rose spoke.

"Yeah," Claire conversed, "We set up some blankets by Sawyer's tent. It's just with Jack gone; we don't know how to help him."

"How is he doing?" Rose asked.

"Well a few scrapes and bruises. I don't think anything too serious luckily."

"If I know Locke, he should be up soon, trying to regain his independence. That man cannot stay still." Rose laughed.

"Yep, I bet your right." Claire bounced Aaron in her arms.

"It looks like Charlie's moving back in." Rose changed the subject.

"Um hmm, I figured I'd let him have a second chance. He's really good with Aaron."

The sun had long since vanished behind the horizon and the sky was pitch black.

"I'd better put Aaron to sleep." Claire said goodbye to Rose.

"Claire," Rose called as she walked back to her tent.

"Yes?"

"Just remember Charlie really cares about you." Was all Rose said.

Claire nodded and smiled. She knew. Charlie would do anything to protect her and Aaron. It was just every time she thought about getting involved with a relationship, she remembered Thomas who had left her heartbroken and alone. Claire had believed that she loved him and that he would do anything for her, it was such a shock to see his true nature.

Claire returned to her makeshift lean to and fed Aaron. Then she set him in his crib and he quickly fell asleep.

She spotted Charlie with his guitar also sleeping. Claire rarely saw him asleep. He had told her he never got much rest at night. Claire remembered the night before when she had kissed him. It felt so right, like they would fit together perfectly. Claire realized that Charlie could have died at the hatch that day and then he would be gone forever. How could she live with herself if he was gone?

Charlie's main concern was about her and the baby. Sure he had made some mistakes and lied to her, but now Claire was learning to appreciate all the things he had done for her.

Claire laid down next to Charlie. He stirred a bit but remained sleeping. She closed her eyes and finally felt safe in this wild territory that had claimed so many lives. As long as they stuck together things would work out okay. Claire drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jack ran through the forest, following Jin. They both fled away from the hatch, moving as fast as they could to Desmond's boat. Jack kept his ears sharp, listening hard for any gunshots or voices. He also looked behind himself frequently for any glimpse of Kate.

"Uh hurry!" Jin spoke the English word to Jack.

They continued through the jungle coming up on the small village built by the Others. Jin halted and crouched down. His eyes watched the busy people below. Their small fires flickered in the night.

Instead of making their way to the sailboat immediately, Jack had insisted that they wait in the brush awhile and watch the hatch. Finally when the sun had set, Jin had persisted that they return to the boat.

The people down in the village seemed to be none the wiser of their escape which lead Jack to believe that they had no communication with the hatch. Carefully, Jin and Jack skirted around the camp, moving in the darkness. Jack could almost see the boat. Its white sails glowed in the shadows. They crossed the rocky terrain, jumping over crevices and sharp coastal rocks.

Just a few more yards and they would be there. Jack could see a figure standing on the boat. It must be Sun. As they drew nearer, Jack could see another dark figure in addition. One was very close to the other. As the moon emerged from behind a cloud, the soft light hit Sun's fearful face. In another second, Jack understood why. Henry had his arm around her neck.

"Jin!" She screamed.

**A/N: I like cliffies. They are so cool because I know what happens next! Thanks for the reviews. Chinchillas are friends not furs!**

**TheEvilTrafficCone Out! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I have no idea how you end these Lost stories. They seem to have no ending. Actually no story really does. I suppose when a boat arrives, but that sounds kinda dumb. Don't worry, I don't want to end this story yet.**

**Chapter 6**

Jack looked at the panic stricken expression on Jin. Henry held Sun tightly, ready to break her neck.

Henry began to speak in Korean to Jin, "Now I wasn't happy when you took away my test subjects Jin. You drove me to do this, but I have a proposal."

Jin shot back, "You disgraceful filth! If you do anything to her-

"If you want your wife to go free, then I will agree to make a trade." Henry continued in fluent Korean, "Your life for hers. If you give yourself up to me, I shall let her go." Henry explained.

"Jin! Don't do it!" Sun cried out to her husband.

Jin was filled with emotion. Jack could see the conflict in his eyes. "Sun, I love you, and I can't allow them to take you or our baby. I will go, only if you let her and my friends go." Jin shouted boldly back to Henry.

"See that worked out quite nicely. Besides, Jack and the others already served their purpose."

Jack, hearing his name, demanded to know what they were talking about but he was ignored.

"Jin, I love you! I can't have our baby without you!" Sun pleaded.

"It's the only way." Jin replied in defeat. He cautiously walked over to Henry. Out of no where an Other sprang and grabbed him. Sun was released and fell to the ground.

"Jin, please don't leave me again!" She pleaded.

Jin looked sadly at his wife. His hands were tied and he was lead off.

"Hey!" Jack called out.

Henry turned around looking at him.

"Where are Sayid, Kate, and Sawyer?" Jack shouted, determined to find out some answers.

"Well after they tied me up an all, they proceeded to leave and return back here. Wherever they are now is none of my concern." Henry spoke to Jack.

"Then how did you escape?" Jack asked.

Henry laughed coldly, "Come now Jack, escaping is simple when you are in your own den."

"So that's it? You're totally fine with losing three people you worked so hard to capture. How do I know you're not lying? You may be holding them somewhere else." Jack persisted.

"Don't move!" Sayid's voice rang out over the shallow cliffs and rocks.

Jack's eyes scanned the scenery and saw the shadowy figure of Sayid with a riffle. Henry grabbed Jin and whipped out a knife. It glittered in the darkness against Jin's neck. "You survivors are like roaches!" He spat, losing his temper, "Even Danielle wasn't this difficult!"

"Jack!" Kate called over to him exhausted. Sawyer was slumped over her shoulder. Jack hurried over to her and helped carry him onto the boat. He was relieved that she was okay. Sun smiled, glad to see them back, but her face was wet with tears.

Sayid and Henry looked like two statues in the night. Neither of them had moved. Sayid's mind was like lightning. He sifted through ideas on how to trick Henry.

"I have a very reliable shot." Sayid called out, trying to intimidate him.

"My, my. Last time I remember when you and I had fun in the hatch. When you gave me those scars and beat me into a bloody pulp. Those were precious memories Sayid." Henry sneered.

"Give him back to us!" Sayid demanded, "You have no right to take him. What has he ever done to you?"

"I'm sorry, but this world doesn't work that way, neither does yours." Henry said with malice, "We had an agreement. Sun goes free for Jin. Now please drop your weapon or you will seriously regret it."

"Your threats are empty. You would never kill him." Sayid continued, "If you need him so much."

"Precisely," Henry said coldly.

A whizzing sound flew out of the bushes and a dart hit Sayid in the arm. He dropped the gun and fell to the ground in pain. Sayid's mind could only focus on the zapping sting throughout his whole body.

Jack and Kate ran up the hill where Sayid was writhering and yanked the dart out of his arm. Kate looked back and saw that Henry was gone. As Sayid regained his ability to move, he pounded his fists into the ground in fury. Henry would suffer for this. Now because of him, Jin was gone.

Jack tried to calm him down and helped him to the boat. Sayid collapsed next to Sawyer. Jack couldn't help wondering how he could have let this happen. How could the Others have easily manipulated and outmaneuvered them? This initially had been his plan, but he had failed miserably and now Jin had to pay the price.

* * *

Locke awoke breathing heavily. The last few minutes before the hatch blew were still fresh in his mind. He could feel the hatch quivering and the loud blaring siren in his ears. 'System Failure' over and over again. As Desmond descended below, Eko entered the shaking computer room bloodied. Metal object flew through the air hitting the walls and defying gravity. And all Locke had said was, "I was wrong!" Those three dreadful words.

What had he done? He had made a terrible and maybe even deadly mistake. His faith was wrong! Now innocent people were suffering because of him. He had done nothing to help. This all started when Boone and I found the hatch. I was responsible for his death and now others as well, he thought.

Despite the sourness of his body, Locke forced himself to get up. It was still dark and the camp was asleep. Sheer will power allowed Locke to walk. He was going back to the hatch. He had to find the others.

Locke painfully made his way into the forest, following the path almost blindly, for he didn't need to look where he was going. He had memorized every twist and turn of it. All those wasted days migrating back and forth to push the button.

Now, Locke dragged himself to the set of metal doors leading into the wreckage he was pulled out from. The night creatures sang in the darkness, communicating between them as they watched the man. Locke threw open the doors and stared into the blackness. Without hesitation, he entered.

Immediately, he ran into some metal and debris. Locke reached into his pocket and pulled out some matches. He fumbled in the dark, trying to light them. He fetched a torch and soon was able to see in front of him.

As Locke continued, he came across an impassible wall of concrete and metal. Furiously, he began to dig through it, cutting his hands on sharp and jagged edges. Locke didn't notice the pain; he was too focused on getting through and finding Eko and Desmond. How could he have let this happen to them?

After some time, Locke made a small passage reaching through to the other side. It was just big enough for him to squeeze through it. Locke pulled himself into it and forced his way farther. The wreckage shifted dangerously, but he made it out, getting to the other side. His cloths were ripped from the metal snagging on it.

"Eko? Desmond?" He called out. Locke relit the torch and headed further into the hatch. He stumbled into the computer room and over to the trapdoor. Locke almost fell right into it because the trapdoor had been yanked off its hinges.

"Desmond!" He tilted the torch into the cavern looking for any hint of life. The light only shined on rubble. Locke entered the pitch black interior and saw that most of it had collapsed in on itself. He realized with dread that there was no way Desmond would have survived the cave in. Concrete blocks had fallen everywhere and as he breathed in, he coughed. There was so much dust in the air and it had not even settled yet.

Locke tried to pull a wooden board out and make his way through when he heard a loud creak. He wouldn't be able to move anything without it collapsing further. If that happened then the floor of the hatch could fall in.

Angrily, Locke returned to the computer room to search for Eko. He spotted the computer monitor lying on the ground and kicked it hard.

"Why! Why did this happen! Why me!" He screamed as he picked the monitor up and threw it at a wall. The remaining glass shattered and echoed off the stone walls. He was no use around here. All he ever could do was work in a box company with younger, faster, and smarter employees making him incompetent. Who was he kidding? He was no safari jungle samurai; he was an old, useless man!

"Help!" A voice from the wreckage emerged, just barely audible.

Locke heard the weak cry for help and ran over to it, "Eko?"

"Please…"

Locke began to dig as fast as possible. He remembered being stuck in the ruins, its crushing weight pressing down on his chest. He had never felt so frightened in his life and had believed that he would die there all alone. It was exactly like being trapped in a tomb. Locke had drifted in and out of consciousness, but he still knew what was happening to him.

At the moment, he needed to save Eko from the same fate he had escaped only hours ago. Finally, Locke cleared all the dirt and rubble away and found the large man sprawled on the ground.

"Eko! Are you hurt?" Locke asked worried.

"Hello," Eko smiled. His body was a mess. He was covered in burns, scrapes, bruises, and dirt. But nonetheless, he seemed strangely tranquil.

"I'm sorry," Locke gave in to his emotions, "I should have listened to you."

"God will forgive you." Eko managed to get out, "Please tell Charlie to finish my church." He whispered.

"Wait Eko," Locke pleaded. This was just like Boone. He was responsible again for an innocent life being taken, "you need to live. You can't just die."

"My brother, I want to join you. I am so sorry for my past. Please Lord; I want to join my brother with you." Eko whispered as he stared at something unseen.

"Eko, I'm sorry." Locke said again.

Eko closed his eyes and his breathing grew weaker, "The Lord must take me now." His chest slowly stopped rising and he lay motionless.

"Eko," Locke spoke softly. He stayed there in the darkness of the ruined hatch next to the great man of faith he had killed.

**A/N: Eko is dead! All the talies didn't make it very long. If ur confused then don't hesitate to ask. It took fore ever for this chapter to get posted, the site was lagging. R & R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Don't worry it would be way too cruel to get rid of Bernard. Right now Bernard is untouchable. Thanks for the reviews, you guys rock!**

**Chapter 7**

Charlie was surprised to find Claire curled up beside him when he woke up during the night. He looked at her still form in the moonlight and thought she looked more beautiful than the stars themselves.

His train of thought was broken when he heard shouts farther down the beach. Charlie got up and walked over to see what was going on. A few people stood near Sawyer's tent talking.

"Hey what's going on?" He called.

Bernard and Hurley came over to him. "Locke is gone." Hurley explained in the dark.

"He's no where on the beach." Bernard said confused.

"Why would he just get up in the middle of the night and leave?" Charlie asked, trying to figure out what happened.

"Dunno." Hurley yawned.

Charlie thought of all the possible places Locke might go. Actually he never knew where Locke went.

"What about the Others?" They might have taken him." Bernard suggested.

"What on Earth is going on?" A sleepy Rose questioned.

"Locke's gone missing." They all replied in unison.

"Well don't you think searching the hatch would be a good start?" Rose said obviously to the other men, "He probably feels guilty for leaving the others down there."

"But we just got him out of there!" Charlie groaned.

"We have no better place to look." Hurley added.

"I'll go get some guys." Bernard left feeling this was a repeat of the previous day.

Charlie, Hurley, Steve, and Bernard left the camp wearily. They headed to the hatch in search of Locke. Charlie thought selfishly of all the sleep he could have gotten next to Claire, but now he had to go find delusional Locke running through the jungle in the middle of the night. At last, the small group reached the hatch.

All four of them descended into the man made structure and came up to the impassible wall of debris that Charlie had created during the day. Now as they examined it further, they saw a small tunnel in it coming out on the other end.

"So Locke's gotta be down here." Hurley stated.

"Anyone want to volunteer to go in there?" Charlie looked around at the men.

"Dude, I can't fit through that." Hurley laughed a little.

"Uh, neither can I." Bernard announced.

"Steve?" Charlie asked.

"I'm kinda claustrophobic, besides you've been down there before."

"Well why the hell did you come down here?" Charlie asked irritated.

"Bernard's the one who woke me up in the middle of the night for this!"  
"Guys chill!" Hurley's yell echoed across the walls. Everyone became quiet.

"Whatever, I'll go." Charlie sighed.

He crouched down and slid into the small hole. Metal poked out at every angle and Charlie tried to shield his eyes in the darkness. This again reminded him of the time when he rescued Jack in the cave in. Dirt fell on top of him as he pulled himself through the tunnel. "Great" he muttered to himself as he saw new cuts on his arms.

He reached the other side and shined the flashlight around. Everything seemed to be the same as it was during the day.

"Locke?" He called, "Hey are you down here?"

Charlie approached the computer room and peered around. He noticed that the bookshelf had fallen down and that books were scattered everywhere. The ping pong table was tipped over and next to that laid the broken monitor of the computer.

"Help me."

"Who said that? Locke?" Charlie searched.

"Help me, I need to bury him." Locke said in a strange voice.

Charlie saw with dread that Locke was kneeling on the ground next to Eko's body.

"Locke! Eko! Is he all right?" Charlie asked. He hurriedly came over. Then Charlie felt his insides turn as he realized what Locke had said. Eko was dead!

Charlie came over slowly and could barely look at the man lying on the ground, "No not you too." He said without expression. Eko didn't deserve such an abrupt ending.

"I need to bury him. We have to get him out of this place." Locke spoke quietly as if he didn't want to be heard at all.

"Wait, I'll go tell the others what's going on." Charlie said. He left Locke and headed back to the hole.

When he had explained the situation, Bernard spoke, "We can't fit Eko through here. Tell Locke to take him to the ladder and we'll pull you guys up like last time."

Charlie agreed and then went back. The two lifted Eko's body up and carefully carried him over to the ladder. Charlie felt so much remorse for the religious man. Over the days, Charlie and Eko had become friends as they built Eko's church. The other man never spoke much, keeping to himself but gradually Charlie learned more about him. Eko had really reminded him of his religious routs reawakened memories long forgotten.

Was it his fault that Eko died? He should have stayed and helped Eko leave the hatch, but instead fled. His last memories of Eko were during the turbulence before the hatch exploded when Eko had told him to leave. Maybe he should have stopped Eko from using the dynamite in the hatch. Eko could have escaped then.

All these doubts flooded his mind and Charlie tried to force them out. Wasn't this always going to happen? Whenever somebody died, like mum, there were always those what if questions. Now was not different.

They brought Eko's body to the ladder and brought him up. Locke and Charlie followed like before. Everyone seemed very solemn as they carried Eko back to the beach and covered his body with a tarp as the others before.

"So we doing the funeral in the morning?" Hurley asked.

"It'd be best that way." Charlie said.

Charlie walked back to Claire who was still asleep, unknowing of the things that had transpired during the night. Aaron was in his crib quiet. So many people had died on this island, and any one of them could be next. The funeral would be in the morning. The sky was already growing pink splashed with blue as the sun rose. Already, birds had been singing for hours.

Charlie sighed, there was no use going to sleep now. He knew someone would have to dig Eko's grave. Better get to it then.

* * *

Jack had to make a hard decision. Stay and try to find Jin while the trail was still fresh, or go back and bring the others back home. Jack had decided to leave and sail back to the other survivors. He felt terrible for leaving Jin, but so far they had never succeeded much in the rescue attempts. It always seemed to Jack that none of the choices stuck out clearer than the other. He felt so guilty when he looked at Sun's pain. She hadn't slept at all despite Jack and Kate advising her to. But how could she? Her husband was taken and now no one was there to comfort her.

But on the other hand, Sawyer and Sayid were in no condition to attempt a rescue mission. Sayid was still recovering from the dart that the Others had shot into his arm. It was lucky that Jack pulled it out so quickly.

When Jack had examined Sawyer, it appeared he was unconscious because of an anesthetic. In addition, there was a fresh wound on his shoulder where the bullet from the Others had entered his arm. Jack was puzzled by this. Sawyer's arm had appeared to be healing well after the infection. He didn't understand why the Others would perform a surgery on it when it was healing.

Kate approached him, "Hey,"

"Hey,"

"We will get Jin back. After what they did to us, they wouldn't kill him." Kate reassured him.

"I know," Jack looked out at the slowly lightening sky, "They just want answers." They had been sailing most of the night and now the morning was fast approaching. They should be at the camp soon.

Jack headed down below the deck to change Sawyer's bandages and Kate followed. "He should be waking up soon. They gave him some strong anesthetic."

"I'm already awake doc." Sawyer opened his eyes. He appeared to have been listening in on their conversation.

"Sawyer, how are you feeling?" Jack asked following through on the medical procedure.

"Swell, what did they do to my damn arm?"

"Surgery," Kate spoke.

"We don't know why." Jack said.

"I thought you were the all knowing-all seeing doctor." Sawyer commented cynically.

The boat rocked and swayed as Sun came down, "Jack we're back."

Everyone piled onto the deck to see. Jack recognized the beach they had been stranded on for more than two months. The camp seemed to be just waking up. Only a few people were seen walking around, washing, or eating. As the sail boat drew nearer, more people emerged from their makeshift homes and came to look at the returning craft.

Sun and Sayid anchored the boat and the life boat was released. The returning survivors got into it and managed to all fit somehow. Slowly they rowed it over to the beach. The crowd watched them, eager for news. Jack saw that most of them had relieved expressions on their faces, no doubt happy to get their doctor back. As they stepped off, all of them were bombarded with questions.

"Where did you go?"

"Did you get Walt back?"

"Did you see the Others?"

"Wait! I'll tell you everything! Just let us get some rest." Jack announced.

He saw Bernard and Hurley coming up to him.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked, looking at their worried faces.

"The hatch exploded and Locke's a bit hurt." Bernard said leaving out the other piece of information that they had come to tell him about.

"Eko is dead." Hurley said slowly as if he could barely bring himself to tell the doctor the bad news.

Jack frowned, if only he had been there to help. "Okay," He said getting a grip on his emotions, "Let me see Locke."

They lead him over to Sawyer's tent where Sawyer was already trudging around angrily fixing this and that.

"We have an infirmary on this damn island, but no. They had to put the hospital by my tent and raid my stuff, unbelievable!"

Jack ignored the con man and came up to Locke who was sitting alone, staring off into space. He looked different, older. Maybe it was because now he was wearing a plaid shirt that made him look oddly out of place on the island. He actually looked like he lived in the real world.

"Locke," Jack called as he approached the man.

"Just call me John." Locke said solemnly.

Jack was surprised by this but decided to ignore it, "Can I look at your wounds?"

"Go ahead."

Jack examined Locke and put some rubbing alcohol on some of the deeper cuts. He stitched up a nasty looking cut on Locke's arm and told him to get some rest.

Finally, Jack came back to his tent and collapsed. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days. His tent looked so comfortable. Jack laid down and wearily closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost instantly.

**A/N: You guys should all read The Others Plan by 16aqua. It sucks for her cause her computer died and now she has a hard time updating. Give her your support! Chinchillas are friends not furs! **

**TheEvilTrafficCone Out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This is the last time I am revisiting the hatch. I've put too much of it in my previous chapters. OMG POC MOVIE AWESOME GOOD REALLY COOL AND JACK WILL LIZZABETH! AWESOME SO MUCH _(The writing fairy says that the Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest is the best movie. The writing fairy is always right. You never argue with the writing fairy. Listen to the writing fairy. The writing fairy despises and detests TheEvilTrafficCone's horrible grammar and awful sentence structure in the above sentence. And F.Y.I., Will turner is very, very, very, very, very, very hot. Jack looks like a rat without his wig.) _JACK IS BETTER THAN THAT PTRETTY BOY WHO IS A GOOD PERSON WHO NEVER GETS IN TROUBLE. _(The writing fairy disagrees, and just to let TheEvilTrafficCone know, Will -SPOILER ALERT- was arrested at the beginning of the movie and at least he wasn't seduced by Elizabeth) _tHATS IT STAY AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD FAIRY,PEPRICA, CHAIN HER DOWN. THAT'S RIGHT! DON'T SCREW WITH CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW! YOU FIEND! HE IS SOOOO MUCH HOTTER THANWILL TURNER_ ( Yeah, well,the writing fairy still thinks Will's hotter and plus, at least he's not anwise ass (I like those moments, I like to wave at them as theypass by.)who willed his life away to some stupid sea urchin.) _THATS IT! YOUR GOING DOWN! U 2 GO IN UR CORNER!_(At least I don't need a writing fairy.) _DUDE I THOUGHT THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BRIEF COMMENT AT THE END...WHATEVER. (_Yeah, but as I mentioned before. I _am_ the writing fairy and what I say goes.) _**

**Chapter 8**

Kate walked over to Jack's tent where she found him passed out on a blanket. Poor Jack, never getting any sleep. He had stayed up all night on Desmond's boat helping Sun to sail, and now when he finally got some rest Kate had to wake him up.

She gently tapped him on the shoulder and when he didn't stir she pushed him a little harder. Finally he eyes fluttered open and he looked up groggily at her.

"Sorry Jack," Kate said, "You gotta get up. The funeral's about to start."

"Yeah, I was just resting my eyes for a few minutes." Jack explained tiredly, "I guess everyone's expecting me to say something."

"No, actually Charlie volunteered." Kate told him.

Jack got up and the two of them walked across the beach toward the grassy embankment where their make shift graveyard stood. For such a beautiful place, it had not such a beautiful reputation. Jack remembered many days when the survivors migrated upon the hill to bury one of their friends and the pain it brought them to do it.

Today was no different. A large group had gathered around a grave dug as they waited in silence. Some of them turned around when they saw Jack and Kate approaching. Sawyer stood a little ways off like he always did, not wanting to be a part of the group. Jack hoped that this funeral would go better than the others. No one had really said much in the past when it came time to speak of the dead one's life. Not that anyone knew that much about them to begin with.

Jack stopped when he reached the group. He saw Charlie standing close to Eko with his arms folded across his chest somberly. After everyone was there he began, "I only knew Eko for a short while…he never really spoke much. He was a priest and he did a lot around here to help." Charlie spoke slowly, "And he baptized Aaron and was building a church over there." Charlie pointed to the unfinished structure in the distance. "Eko helped a lot, he liked to. He helped me. I don't know much about his life except that he had a brother who was a priest and his brother died on the island when his plane crashed." Charlie explained, some people looked surprised by this new information, "It was the one Boone tried to climb." Charlie stopped, thinking of what else to add, "Eko was a great man and I know I'll miss him very much."

At the end of Charlie's monologue he threw some dirt into the grave. Other people followed in the same manner. Locke came up to Charlie and spoke, "I was with Eko before he died." Locke explained, "He said you should finish the church for him."

Charlie didn't say anything. He just nodded his head and then walked off to join Claire with Aaron.

Once the grave was filled completely, the group slowly drifted back to their tents, going back to their lives. These days, dwelling on death could quite possibly mean your own. Jack went back to his tent and sifted through his medical supplies. He was running out, as much as he hated to admit it. And now that the hatch was gone, or so he was told, it was like going back a few months when he had little or no medicine to treat wounds.

Jack walked over to Kate, "I'm going back to the hatch to find more supplies."

"Wait, what? There's nothing left. Charlie said it was all ruined."

"Either way, I could find something useful."

"I'm coming with you." Kate repeated her catch phrase.

Jack sighed knowing Kate's adventurous spirit all too well.

Kate looked at the forest wearily; the scenery here was all too familiar. She had seen nothing of it for the past two months. She remembered the first night she, jack, and Charlie had trudged through the seemingly harmless forest and had discovered the brutish, strange "monster" that inhabited it.

Jack followed Kate, deep in thought. He wondered why the "monster" hadn't made too many appearances lately. Maybe Ana Lucia had been right. All the survivors were getting way too accustomed to the routine of their lives here and forgetting about all the dangers hidden within it. But how was he supposed to warn them and watch what they were doing, he was just one man.

Jack watched Kate ahead of him. He felt a sudden urge to come up to her and tell her how he felt, but common sense held him back. Something caught his eye, it was just a glimpse, but he saw it none the less. There, just over the neck of her shirt. In a split second he decided to ask before he convinced himself to mind his own business, "Kate, how did you get that cut on the back of your neck?"

She turned around, confused, "What cut?"

Jack reached around and lightly touched the back of her neck. She sucked in air as his fingers grazed the cut, "That one."

"I don't know," She had a blank look on her face. One that Jack knew wasn't as innocent as perceived.

Jack pulled closer and examined it with his trained eye in medical issues. There was a small incision made that had been closely stitched up. He rested his hands on her shoulder and she reached back and put her hand on his as she asked, "What, what's wrong?"

"The Others," She heard him whisper, "What do you think they did to us on that surgical table?"

"Don't know."

"Here check me." Jack asked.

"What?" Kate's green eyes looked at him strangely, and then she realized where he was going with his theory.

He turned around and she pulled his shirt back. Sure enough a small cut was there too. It sent a shiver down her spine. She pulled away awkwardly and told him he had the mark too.

"Why-," Kate asked but she was cut off by Jack as he entered his predictions mode. The one that everybody predicted would happen.

"They must have inserted something. Something small, but for what I couldn't say." Jack began. Kate saw the anger replacing his shock as he thought of the days the Others had held them captive.

The two continued in silence the rest of the way, not saying much. At last, Jack saw the ruined the hatch and the odd clearly surrounding it. He drew nearer to the metal doors and inspected them. The door was oddly charred as if there had been a fiery explosion that had singed the hard plated material. This, of course, had been Charlie and Eko. Hurley had brought him up to speed on recent events as soon as he had rested up as much as he would physically allow himself to.

Kate entered first, not hesitating as if she didn't want Jack to see the uncertainty in her heart. The hatch seemed so different, it was dark, debris scattered the floor, and remnants of life were displayed here and there. But she had never liked the hatch anyway; it reminded her of a place no one could escape, as if it were suffocating her. 'Katie, always running away', that's what Tom had always said. God, she wished he was with her. Maybe not on this island, but alive. Somewhere. Safe. But then there was Jack. Where did he fit in? How _did_ she feel about him anyway? And Sawyer? Her dad's presence mingled around the man, haunting her with every passing moment they were within seeing distance. As she walked slowly in, something moved farther ahead, knocking from her own personal pity party. Jack came up close behind her and she basked in the protective feeling that clung to him in abundance. She had to admit she liked that feeling. That feeling that she was safe. Where else could she get that feeling on this god-forsaken island?

"Who's there?" Jack called, his voice reverberating throughout the metal box. That suffocation feeling always managed to make her heart beat a little faster and speaking seemed to make it worse, make it painfully obvious the closeness of the walls and introverted feeling that accompanied the cold, unforgiving walls.

The only response was the clatter of metal being knocked away. Jack moved closer, carefully taking hold of a splintered piece of wood he found lying near his foot.

The thing grew closer, pulling itself towards them. What was it? Jack thought? The light streamed through the open doors and Desmond stumbled to their feet.

**A/N: Dude, I should not write anymore but just to let u know 2 other friends wrote that and I'm NOT talking to myself again.**

**Now the nice in the white jackets men and women are here to give me my daily madication. Yo i'm out for the day and no I don't mean medication the fairy got fed up with my writing so she flew away. _(Like I could leave her alone without feeling guilty about doing it. She might just start stabbing things with pencils.) _WHERE'S THE DEFIBULATOR? OH MAN SHE FOUND THE CHAIN SAW! (_Um, when she's next sane we'll have her write the next chapter. Later Peprika. This is your issue. Tee-hee)_ oKAY THIS IS NOT MY STORY ANYMORE THEY TOOK IT OVER.SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WRITING FAIRY WHO MADE MY STORY BETTER AND PEPRICA WHO JUSTY COMPLETLY SCREWED IT UP. JK, BUT YOU DO BELIEVE IT RIGHT?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I am thinking of a twist in the way this story is going. I originally was thinking of creating a new story and putting it in it but I decided to add it in this story. Even if you didn't understand that stuff that's okay.**

**Chapter 9**

Jack knelt down immediately and cushioned Desmond's weak body in his arms. One look at the poor man and you didn't need a PHD in Medicine to know he was in critical condition. Jack scanned his body with an experienced eye and wracked his brain for what he could possibly do without the proper medical instruments. It appeared Desmond's leg was broken. An open fracture, by the look of the dark stain on his pant leg. Quite possibly a concussion on the head where he saw a bruise and swelling. All this he saw in a matter of seconds. His next reaction was directed towards Kate.

"We need to get him over to the beach."

Kate bent down, ready to pick up Desmond, "Wait, it's better to make a stretcher. He shouldn't be carried." Jack told her, "Get something…like a pole and see if you could find a sturdy board for him to lie on." Jack directed, entering his almighty-protective-doctor mode, where the orders seemed to flow out of his mouth like water.

Kate left without a word; she knew by Jack's voice that this was a serious situation and that he would never forgive himself if he lost yet another on the island. Shifting through the debris, it was hard to find something that did not have splinters in it, but Kate finally came across a light weight aluminum shelf that felt sturdy enough to hold Desmond.

"Here," She said bringing it to him, "Will this do?"

"Yeah," Jack had torn part of his shirt off and wrapped it around Desmond's leg. The English man moaned, his eyes closed tightly. They carefully moved him onto the makeshift stretcher and gingerly lifted it. The two struggled under the weight, but they managed to get him out of the hatch. Kate dreadfully realized it would be a long way back to the beach.

The going was tough; they had made little progress in the hour they had been walking. After what seemed like days, they brought Desmond back to the beach and over to Jack's tent. Desmond was laid onto a blanket and Jack began treating his wounds with efficiency. In addition to he collection of aliments, Desmond had a deep gash running down his side, Jack was about to reach for a small bottle of rubbing alcohol for it when he realized it was empty, Damn it!He swore silently to himself. He opened up one of his briefcases and discovered that those bottles were also empty. Well Jack, your all by yourself now.

Jack heard someone walking through the sand behind his back, he looked behind his shoulder and saw that it was Sayid.

"Desmond right?" The other man asked.

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

"Will he be alright?"

"Too early to tell," Jack replied, "Hey could you ask everyone if they have any alcohol on them?"

"Gonna try to escape your trouble, doc?" Sawyer spoke as he popped out from behind a palm tree.

"No," Jack tried to make his voice as unemotional as possible. He couldn't believe Sawyer could be so insensitive.

"I'll get right on it, Jack," Sayid said leaving the two alone with Desmond.

"Hey buddy we all thought you were dead!" Sawyer said as he saw Desmond opening his eyes. Here we go, thought Jack, getting irritated. But then he noticed that Desmond was waking up.

The man opened his eyes and looked weakly around, "No," He replied in a heavy Irish accent, "Why am I still here? This has got to be a dream."

"Take it easy, here have some water." Jack advised.

Jack watched as the other man feebly drank some of the water. He could barely hold his head up and had so little strength that Jack feared he would collapse again.

"Can you tell us what happened in the hatch?" Jack asked, hoping to get some more information.

"Brother, I pushed the fail safe. And it should have killed me." Desmond weakly replied.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Sawyer asked as he stood behind Jack watching.

"Locke destroyed the computer. I had too."

"Locke?" Jack was startled by this, "So he caused timer to run down to zero?"

"Yes."

* * *

Locke was sitting in the sand watching the tide roll in and out. He felt overwhelmed with grief, about what he had done. It was his fault the hatch exploded and Eko died. Whenever he closed his eye, he remembered it. The shame was like a weight tied to him and he dragged it with him wherever he went. He couldn't get away from it, how was he ever going to live? 

I was never meant to do this! He thought. I'm no use around here, so I should just stay out of everyone's way and not get involved. That's what he'd do. Maybe go off into the jungle and live alone, where they would never find him. But wasn't he going to do that when Boone died? The only thing that had made him go back was the light in the hatch. Well, he had found out what that light was and his stupid idea about the hatch being meant for him to open was wrong.

Locke picked himself up and was about to go get his things and leave when he saw Hurley who was approaching him.

"Hey Locke," He called waving.

Locke didn't return the gesture.

"Yo, everyone was wondering if you were gonna catch some more boars. Food's kinda getting scarce." Hurley said in his laid back tone of voice.

"I don't know. I don't do that sort of thing anymore." Locke spoke looking down at the ground.

"What are you talking about, man? You were the only one who brought knives and could catch anything. We need to eat."

"Hurley, it would be wiser not to have me catch boar, or be around. Everyone would be a lot safer."

"Um, okay dude." Hurley said confused, "I guess we have to find someone else who knows that stuff." He walked off, glancing behind his shoulder every once and a while to look back at Locke.

"Locke!"

Someone else called his name. It seemed angrier and more determined. Locke spotted Jack's silhouette in the distance covering ground alarmingly fast. Jack trudged over to him with anger showing in his eyes. "What did you do in the hatch!" He called.

Locke held his ground waiting patiently for the doctor to get there. Well it's too late, I guess they found out.

Jack stood in front of the older man, waiting for an answer, "Desmond told me you broke the computer."

"Desmond's back?" Locke questioned, at least he wasn't responsible for that death.

"Yes, he told me you broke the computer. Is that why the hatch exploded?" Jack struggled to keep his anger under control. He felt this strong urge to punch Locke in the face. But that was how Jack always got when he treated a patient. He over sympathized with them and felt it was his duty to fix everything. That included the police work.

"Alright, I admit, I did break the computer. I was too overconfident that the hatch wasn't real. Isn't that what you thought Jack? You wanted the timer to run all the way down to zero and see what happened. That's what I was trying to do."

"So you risked everyone's lives on it? And you broke it on purpose?" Jack accused.

"Yes."

"You caused Eko's death and maybe even Desmond's!" Jack couldn't control his emotions anymore.

"I know Jack! You don't need to tell me how much I screwed up! Locke's voice grew louder. He walked away from Jack and headed over to get his things. They don't want me here! Well, I'll do them all a favor and leave.

**A/N: Thanks again for the support. The Writing Fairy has a new stroy up about POC and I think it's written very well. You should review hers cause it's her first one and everyone deserves a lot of reviews on their first fanfic.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the long long long wait. I had the worst disease ever, Writers Block. Okay, so here's the plan, I don't know how much more I can continue this story, B/c the well is almost depleted. And I can't believe they are pushing back the Lost season till October! I can't wait that long. This is unfair!**

**_(Yes. It's so unfair. Unusual and cruel punishment. (roll eyes) –WF-) _And from Nov-Dec/Jan there's another show taking Lost's time slot. I can't believe they would do this to the viewers! I won't get through this withdrawal. _(It's going to be perfectly dreadfully. The whining and moaning is going to be intolerable. I'll bring some cheese to go with all the wining.-WF-)_Yeah yeah Writing Fairy you don't know what its like to be a true fan of Lost! _(Yes, well, maybe I shouldn't start now then. Then we'd all just end up sitting around bawling our eyes out. Someone needs to retain their common sense, Savvy?) _Fine then how bout I tell u Christmas is cancelled! Then will u understand the torture we are going through? _( Christmas? We're did you get 'Christmas' from Lost? They're incomparable. (haughty voice) the spirit of Christmas won't ever die so long as there is one person still believing.) _Exactly the same with Lost it will nvr be cancelled as long as 1 fan truly believes. Zing! _(Ri-ight. Keep on thinking that…)_ Fineish, but everyone here knows what I'm talking bout. Ur outnumbered Fairy. **

**Chapter 10**

Charlie walked over to Jack who was attending Desmond, "Hey Jack," He said nonchalantly.

"What is it Charlie?" Jack asked knowing that the man had something on his mind.

"Well, Locke seems to be missing." Charlie told him, "It's just nobody has seen him in camp."

"Why is Locke gone?" Jack asked, not taking in the seriousness of the situation at first, he paused, glanced back at Charlie, his eyes widening, "Wait, John's missing?" he questioned, finally grasping the concept of someone going MIA.

"Yeah," Charlie looked at him strangely like have you gotten enough sleep lately?

Jack stood up immediately to search the beach himself, thinking Charlie may have made a mistake. After all, Locke may have gone to hunt or something.

Jack paused before leaving the tent long enough to ask, "How long has he been gone?" That might help him find out whether he should be worrying or not, at least.

"Uh, no one's seen him all morning."

"And this is unusual how?" Jack asked exasperatedly, pressing a hand to his forehead. Locke was an unusually quiet old man. He didn't exactly hang out joking with the other survivors. He was surprised people even cared.

"Jack," Charlie stopped him, "Have you noticed the guy, ever since he came back from the hatch, he's not been the same. Locke's been moping around the camp feeling sorry for himself."

"He disappeared after Boone died," Jack reminded.

"Okay, if you wanna ignore this be my guest, but half the camp thinks he's gone out to kill himself. He did blow up the hatch."

"Alright. Get Kate and Sayid. Tell them to meet me over here." Jack ordered in an exasperated manner, "But I need to keep an eye on Desmond."

Charlie hurried off to fetch the others and Jack thought to himself about how his father acted right before he left to Australia and ended up in the Sydney morgue. It was possible that Locke was blaming himself for what had happened, but going off into the jungle? Was he really that desperate?

Charlie soon returned with the others and they gathered in front of Jack talking and planning on what to do. So far there was plan A: going into the jungle to try to track Locke and plan B: Waiting until the man returned because he probably was taking a piss or something. This was proposed by Sawyer as he overheard their conversation.

"Locke knows how to take care of himself." Sayid told them.

"But he could have been taken by the Others." Kate said.

"I am not going all the way back there again." Sawyer said immediately, then added in his usual sarcastic voice, "Hell, I don't care what they do to him. Maybe this'll keep Zeke off our asses."

"Unfortunately not all of us can reason as well as you." Kate told him coldly, revulsion clear in the razor sharp gaze she was shooting at him, "But like it or not, we are responsible for everyone here. You can't tell me this hasn't affected you at all. We've all been living together for months and all you can think about is yourself." Kate lectured, a sort of finality in her voice that caused Sawyer to open his mouth to retort, but Jack cut him off adding, "She's right, we are a community, and we do look out for one another."

"Okay, so we should start looking right away. Two groups would be the best course of action. We need two trackers then." Sayid started to set up a plan looking around at the group. Kate, Sawyer, Jack, Charlie, and Kate were standing around him listening intently.

"I can lead one." Kate said.

"Alright, I'll take the other." Sayid spoke.

"I have to stay with Desmond." Jack chimed in.

It ended up being Charlie and Sayid in one group and Kate and Sawyer in the other.

"Oh goody, goody gumdrops." Sawyer said as he looked at Kate like she was going to order him around.

"We'll head west, you can take the east side and we'll meet up at the hatch." Kate offered to Sayid.

"You're the boss." Was all Sawyer said.

The two groups dispersed and headed opposite directions down the beach. They slowly sank into the scenery of the sand and forest, keeping a keen eye for the mysterious disappearing John Locke.

"Why do _they_ get the beach and we get the forest?" Charlie grumbled in a thick British accent. Sayid didn't answer. Charlie wasn't really looking for an answer anyway. They trudged on, passing through mostly the outskirts of the forest. They'd do the perimeter then move deeper.

Sayid looked closely at the ground as they entered the forest. He searched for footprints, broken underbrush, anything that could link Locke to coming through there.

"Do you see anything?" Charlie asked in an impatient, childlike voice.

"No." Sayid replied steadily, "This part of the forest looks untouched."

They continued farther into the jungle by now ithad become a familiar site to them. Whether that was good or bad, it was hard to tell. If they could find the island once they got rescued, it would make a great resort, Charlie imagined. He was knocked from his reverie though by the snapping of a twig and looked around. He might as well put a little effort into finding the old chap. Everything looked normal, or at least what was considered 'normal' on the island. They trudged onward, searching among the trees and lush undergrowth and dense bushes for any sign that anyone or anything had passed through.

Finally, Sayid stopped abruptly and listened carefully. In between trying not to bump into him and his imaginary thriving hotel, Charlie stood behind him, trying to figure out what he was hearing. It was annoying waiting for the ex-soldier to tell him what was happening.

At first he only thought he imagined it, the swishing, clicking sound in the distance, like maracas shaking in the wind. But as he homed in on the sound in an attempt to find out the direction of it, Sayid caught a flash of dark shadow gliding through the forest.

"We should leave." He said quietly to Charlie.

"Huh?"

"Now." Sayid backed up slowly and Charlie got the gist of what he was talking about when a loud bang shook the forest and a tree was ripped out of the ground. They both sped around and ran through the trees pell-mell, barely restraining the urge to scream all hell and bloody murder.

Sayid was in the lead, quickly skirting around large trunks and fallen trees, moving away from the clattering mechanical sounds. Charlie flew off in another direction, maybe not his brightest bloody idea, his lungs heaving heavily as he stumbled through bushes. He glanced back behind him, trying to see where Sayid had gotten to or if the monster was following him. His feet were running on air as he tumbled through the underbrush, falling downhill before he knew it. He felt like a skier who had wiped out and had no choice but to brace for the lurching falls down the slope. Vaguely, he noticed he was hitting hard trees and rocks, his neck bending in an odd direction as he hit something else.

At last, Charlie fell into a shallow pool of water and lay there unmoving. _Oh, bloody hell,_ was his last tangible thought.

**A/N: K gotta do this fast b4 Writing Fairy gets back. I'll try 2 upd8 soon. I no its tuff w8ng. Please forgive me if theres a big delay.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews; I'm starting to be back on track now. I don't know if you consider this Jate and Skate stuff, but I'm trying. Actually I never really write stuff about the love triangle so this is a one shot thing. Tell me if you like it.**

**Chapter 11**

Sawyer followed Kate down the beach in search of the great white hunter. Why was he even coming along? It wasn't like he actually cared. But then again, Kate was coming, and he always found himself wondering what she was up to. God damn it, now he was doing it again. He tried to think of all the other women he had banged. They never lingered in his head. So why were thoughts of Kate filling his mind?

The silence crackled between the two of them as they trekked through the jungle. Kate kept he head forward, focusing on searching for any tracks. She did not look back to see how Sawyer was doing, and kept her mind on her job. After all, there was no way Kate was going to screw up and let that arrogant, self centered man see her make a mistake.

It was then that she spotted a footprint in the sand. Kate bent down and examined it closer. It appeared to be a large boot print, belonging to a man. Farther ahead, more of them appeared to be moving up into the forest.

"Look at this." She said, "I think it's Locke's."

"Great, where to now wonder woman?" Sawyer asked in a dry tone.

"Hey you think just once you could treat people with respect. It doesn't kill the rest of us." Kate shot back.

Sawyer looked at her angrily, "I'll keep my hands and feet away from you, wouldn't want them bitten off."

"I don't even know why I bother with you."

"It's because you are intrigued by my complicated nature." He smiled wickedly.

Kate snorted, "Sure."

"Don't deny it sweetheart."

Kate walked on ahead, ignoring that last remark. She followed the trail of boot prints. Sure enough they entered the jungle and Kate was able to pick up a trail of broken underbrush. The canopy of leaves kept the sun off their backs, and they both felt refreshed. After a while, they stopped and took a break. Kate pulled out some water from her backpack and they quenched their thirst.

Suddenly, a flock of birds erupted out of the trees farther off and flew across the sky. Their alarm calls screeching in the wild and warning other creatures to beware. Kate listened carefully and heard the far off rumble and crash of trees being ripped out of the ground.

"That sounds like the security system." She told Sawyer.

"How far away is it?" He asked.

"I don't think we have too much to worry about. It's not over here."

"Bet Muhammad and the hobbit are having a fabulous time with it." Sawyer spoke of Sayid and Charlie.

"Let's keep going." Kate got up and slung her pack around her shoulder.

"What's that?" Sawyer asked.

"What's what?"

Sawyer pointed to a burned out campfire, "Looks like I get a point."

"This was just put out." Kate studied the ground, "We're close."

"Is there a reason why you're following me?" A voice rang out from the leaves. Locke appeared and came over to them.

"Locke, we were looking all over for you. We didn't know where you went." Kate explained.

"Well I'm a grown man. I can look out for myself."

Kate noticed that he hadn't shaven in a couple of days and his cloths looked filthy. His appearance seemed to contradict what he said.

"Why are you out here?" Sawyer questioned.

Locke paused, "Well you know, exploring. Thought I'd look for some boar."

Kate knew he was lying. Locke would have at least told Jack where he was going, "Look, we need you back at camp. You're the only hunter that we've got. Nobody blames you for what happened at the hatch." She tried to tell him, "Besides, people are starting to panic now that most of the food has disappeared."

"Listen, I'm not who you think I am." Locke said, his voice rising, "I work in an office. All the stuff I know comes from books. Everyone here thinks I'm a strong, well adapted hunter. But a few months ago, I couldn't even stand up."

Kate and Sawyer were surprised to see Locke talk about himself in that way. For the past few months on the island, they had pictured Locke as someone confident in himself. Not this old man that seemed to have no faith in his abilities.

"Will you please come back." Kate tried again, "You're the one who taught us to hunt and stay alive out here. If it weren't for you, God knows how we would have survived."

"I admit there's a note of truth to her." Sawyer added.

Locke seemed to be pondering. His forehead crinkled as he smiled, "Okay Kate. I'll lead us back to the beach."

The sun was setting when the three returned back to camp. Kate headed over to see what Jack was doing, Locke went over to his tent, and Sawyer, of course, disappeared into his tent, no doubt to revisit his Playboys.

"Hey Jack." Kate greeted the doctor as she returned to where he was treating Desmond who was awake and looking better.

"Ah, I see you have returned victorious with Locke." He laughed.

"Yep, so how was your afternoon? Very uneventful?" Kate questioned.

"You could say that. But I was threatened by a very scary sand crab today."

Kate and Jack talked some more, feeling like they were at home with each other. They both could understand each other and talk with ease.

Kate wondered if it could ever be like that with Sawyer. It seemed like she could never connect with him. But they did know what it was like to never trust in someone else, having to keep their guard up. Only now Kate was letting hers down and melding into the fabric of their newly forming society on the beach, while Sawyer could never become like that. He had spent too much time alone, shutting out others from his heart.

As he gazed at his old , wrinkled magazines that he had looked at a dozen times over, he longed to be able to open up, but part of him wouldn't and couldn't. Jack would get her in the long run simply because Sawyer could not give in to his emotions.

**A/N: ha you still have to wait another chapter to find out about Charlie! Read and review please! Soylent Green is people! And Chinchillas are friends not furs!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: OK you guys have been waiting for Charlie, so here he is. This story is screwing with me; I can't separate what I wrote from what is really happening. When the season finally starts up again, all this will seem really strange compared to what JJ has written. **

**Chapter 12**

"Charzli…Shcharlie…Charlie!"

Who was that? Someone was calling his name.

Charlie could hear someone speaking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Who was that? Someone he knew. God damn it! He was so confused! He tried to move, but instantly felt a splitting pain in his shoulder, and his head throbbed.

Slowly, Charlie opened his eyes and looked around at the blurry landscape. Wow he was dizzy. The person was standing above him. As his eyes became focused, Charlie recognized the figure. It was definitely someone he knew, but hadn't the Others captured him?

"Jin?" Charlie slurred as he lay in the dirt.

Jin kneeled down and spoke some Korean which Charlie had no way of understanding. He laid his hand on Charlie, signaling for him to stay still. Regaining some clarity of what was happening, Charlie suddenly remembered the fall he had taken as he ran away from the monster and the events leading up to that.

Charlie began to sit up, it was hard work, his neck ached badly, but somehow he reached a sitting position. That brought on a new wave of nausea. Charlie looked at his shoulder which felt like it had been run over by a steamroller. He could see that it didn't look normal, fantastic, it was bruised and the muscles were oddly bunched together. Charlie looked away; he was aware of Jin trying to speak to him, but instead, the British man fell back onto the ground and closed his eyes wearily. He fainted.

Jin was poking him, trying to keep him from losing consciousness.

"Bloody hell," he murmured, "okay, I'm up!"

Charlie opened his eyes once again, Jin was still there, but he could see that the sun had sunk a bit farther down the canopy sky.

"….Walk…." Charlie picked up the English word Jin was trying to tell him.

"Yeah, okay I'll walk." Charlie tried to get up, Jin helped him. Briefly, Charlie lost his vision standing and wavered precariously, but then managed to regain it and look around. He was standing in a rocky ravine, deserted of water. No doubt he had fallen in it in an attempt to escape the thing in the jungle.

"This is going to be one hell of a walk." Charlie spoke bitterly to himself. It felt as if every step he took, his body vibrated with pain. It was slow going, but soon they made their way out of the ravine and up into the forest. Charlie repeatedly had to rest as he would get light headed and weak. He just hoped Jin could find the camp, because they were screwed royally if Jin was going to rely on Charlie to find it.

They came across a small stream and the two gladly drank from it. The water looked a little questionable, but neither of them cared much. It was a relief to wet his face and wash some of the dirt out of his cuts. After their break, they continued on in what they hoped was the right direction. Note to self: Stop going out into the forest. Charlie spoke in his head, trying to get it ingrained in his memory so he would never have another one of these incidents.

After an hour of wandering through the wild, Charlie finally recognized something familiar. It was the old cockpit from the plane. He remembered being here their second day after the crash with Jack and Kate. Similarly, they had also been chased by the monster that day.

Jin had never seen the cockpit before and he looked at it excitedly. He pointed and said something in Korean.

"Jin, we saw it already." Charlie tried to make him understand, "Seriously, you don't want to go in there."

Charlie started heading in the opposite direction and Jin had no choice but to follow him. The long, hard walk back to the camp finally proved the effort as they reached society again. Jin helped Charlie over to Jack who was talking to Kate.

"Charlie, what happened?" He questioned.

"Fell, is Sayid back?" Charlie asked.

"No, he was supposed to be with you." Kate spoke, looking confused.

Jack examined Charlie's arm. "Looks like you pulled quite a few muscles, nothing broken though." Jack guided him over to his tent and Charlie sat down next to Desmond who watched them. Jack did his magic and pushed the muscles back into place.

"Why don't you rest here for awhile." He advised, then went back to Kate and left the two of them.

"What happened out there, brother?" Desmond asked once Jack was gone.

"Fell down a ravine."

"Humph, well I guess you know me, but what's your name?" Desmond asked.

"Charlie, I'm the recovering drug addict on the island." Charlie decided to bring him up to pace.

"Yeah, and I'm the crazy hatch man." He laughed a little, "What part of England are you from, brother?"

"Manchester."

"Really, I've got relatives there."

"That's cool, so I can't believe they found you down there, when the hatch collapsed." Charlie said as he looked over the Scottish man.

"Good riddance. That's one less blasted thing to worry about, but of course this bloody island will give us something else to drive us mad." Desmond spoke with anger in his voice.

"I don't know, seems like everything is finally turning around for me." Charlie mused, "I couldn't get a break back home. My band fell apart mostly because of drugs, sex, and fame. Here, you know everybody, back there you pass people on the street and never see them again."

"Well it's different once you've been stranded here for three years with one other person. You have someone on the island?" Desmond asked as he picked up a rounded stone and looked at how perfect it was.

Charlie was taken back by the question, "What do you mean?"

"Someone you care about right here." Desmond cleared up.

"Um, yeah. Claire and Aaron." Charlie told him, remembering their kiss.

"Lucky," Desmond laughed, "I knew a woman back home. Her father's the reason I'm here right now." Charlie saw the pain in his eyes as he spoke. "Her name was Penny." Desmond continued, "And God, I'd do anything to get to her. The one girl I loved thinks I'm dead."

"I'm sorry." Charlie tried to fill the silence that was between them."

"Nah, don't feel sorry for me." Desmond hurled the rock; it hit the sand hard and created a small crater. "I'm pretty much already dead."

**A/N: Yeah! My two favorite characters were in this chapter, Desmond and Charlie. Read and review. Reviews are cool. And I wants it. I'm addicted to it. Chinchillas are friends not furs!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I don't know how good this chapter is, it felt kinda rushed and all, but this is it. The last chapter of the story! It's kinda like a finale, nothing gets solved, just a lot more questions.**

**Chapter 13**

Sun looked up from her laundry; she still felt this odd sense of deja vu. Jin had been gone now for days and it seemed to be a repeat of when he was on the raft, separated from her. She missed him so badly, but yet there was still hope that he may return, lingering in her heart. After all Michael, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer came back.

It seemed like her prayers had been answered when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Sun turned around and Jin was standing behind her. A smile had lit up his face and he beamed at her. Sun let out a scream of delight and relief. Her husband had returned. She straightened up and embraced him. She was so happy to see him.

"Are you hurt?" She brushed her hand against his face.

"No not much." He smiled.

"I'm so glad that you're back, Jin!" She spoke.

"I could not leave you. I had to come back."

Sun motioned for him to sit down, "Please, tell me. What happened?" She asked.

Jin hesitated, but then began to speak, "They drugged me, just like the others and held me captive, but I escaped." He summarized. There was flatness in his voice that reminded Sun of the time he had come home from work bloodied and had lied to her. Something wasn't right. Jin was lying to her, but why?

She pulled back from him and felt a chill run down her spine, "What's wrong?" He asked.

"You're lying to me." Sun spoke, fear in her eyes.

"What are you talking about Sun? I wouldn't lie to you." Jin pleaded, "Please believe me."

"No, you're not the same." Sun got up. She had no idea what had happened to Jin, but there was a difference. He seemed almost mechanical, like something else was inside Jin's body. But it wasn't the man she had fallen in love with or married.

"Get away from me!" She yelled and ran off, leaving Jin alone.

Kate saw Sun running toward her with a distraught expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" Kate asked, worry in her voice. Jin had returned with Charlie and had gone straight over to Sun. Kate thought that Sun would be ecstatic to see him again

"It's Jin, something is not the same." Sun was now close to tears.

"Wait, calm down," Kate said in a comforting voice, "What's not the same about him" She asked.

"When you love someone, you know them inside and out. But Jin is not the same. Michael, what was Michael like when you found him?" Sun asked, her face flustered with emotion.

"I don't know," Kate spoke, "He was kind of withdrawn, but we just assumed it was because he didn't have his son back." Kate thought back to the time when her and Jack found Michael in the woods.

"Are you sure about this?" Kate asked, "It could just be a mistake."

"No, get Jack." Sun said determinedly.

Kate ran off to go get him and told Sun to keep calm. Kate wasn't sure if she believed Sun, but she decided to trust Sun. What could the Others have done to Jin? Brainwashing crossed her mind and the strange implants in the back of their necks. Kate's hand felt the small cut on her neck. It was almost fully healed, she felt so vulnerable not knowing what that thing was doing. It made her feel like some sort of experiment.

"Jack!" She called to the doctor. He had just left Charlie and Desmond in the tent who were talking together.

"What is it?" He asked, confused by the look on her face.

"It's Jin. Sun claims he's not the same." Kate told him, knowing jack wouldn't understand at first.

"Is he sick?"

"No, Sun says that Jin just isn't acting normal." Kate re explained.

"Okay, I'm coming." Jack said briskly.

A lot of medical conditions entered Jack's brain as he followed Kate. It could just be stress that was causing Sun to think Jin was different, or the shock of being taken by the Others may have caused Jin to act out of character. Mental diseases can be developed later on in life like schizophrenia or bi polar disease, but then again, what if the Others were responsible for this? They had proved that they had highly advanced technology; they could have done something to Jin.

Jack and Kate returned to where Sun was sitting quietly on the sand. "Sun, are you alright?" Jack prepared to make a medical analysis and find out what was causing this strange behavior.

Sun nodded, "He's different. A different person." Jack made out.

"Are you getting enough rest?" He asked soothingly.

"Yes!" Sun shot out, "I'm fine! It's him." She looked desperately at Kate for assistance.

"Where is Jin?" Kate asked, panic in her voice.

Claire was carrying Aaron in her arms; he was getting quite big and starting to observe more of his surroundings. His tiny fists would pick up leaves and stones so now Claire had to be extra careful and watch him all the time. She didn't want him to choke or eat something poisonous. There seemed to be a bountiful amount of dangers on the island just waiting to have there go at her son.

Claire was on her way over to Charlie, she had heard that he was back from the forest and in Jack's tent hurt. It wasn't like he was dying or anything; he had just done something to his arm. Nevertheless, Claire wanted to see him and make sure he was all right. She felt warmth in her heart now whenever she thought about him and knew it was love growing. Claire had made up her mind now that Charlie was right for her and Aaron. Her son needed a father and this felt like the right choice.

As Claire drew nearer, she saw Charlie laughing and talking with Desmond. She had never really liked Desmond after what he had said about Aaron's father. It seemed like Desmond was sticking up for Tomas. That's' why she stopped when she saw them enjoying each other's company so much. It almost felt like Charlie had found a new best friend. Claire had grown so used to him hanging around her and worshipping her that it felt oddly strange to be in the backlight. Slowly, jealously was wrapping itself around her mind. Maybe she shouldn't go over there. It would be strange to just pop up and disturb them. Instead, Claire veered off and directed herself to the edge of the beach where she stood in the wet sand, letting the water run over her toes.

Farther off, Claire spotted Jin coming toward her. News travels fast on the island and Claire had already heard about how Jin had found Charlie hurt in the forest and they had returned to the camp. Claire smiled, happy to see him as he approached her.

"Hi Jin!" Claire greeted him perkily, unaware of Jack, Kate, and Sun now searching fearfully for Jin at that very moment.

Jin nodded, but he seemed preoccupied. Something was troubling him.

As Charlie was lying in Jack's tent, talking to Desmond, he heard a familiar, yet dreadful scream being carried by the wind. His blood ran cold, Claire.

**A/N: R and R because I don't know if you guys are gonna like it. I think I might do a sequel, but that depends on the reviews. Lol this is my version of the third season bet it will be a ton different.**


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